NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
9.3.3
DRAFT
Grade 9 • Module 3 • Unit 3 • Lesson 7
Lesson 7
Introduction
In this lesson, students continue to edit and revise their research papers. Students are introduced to a
new language standard, L.9-10.2. They are also introduced to semicolons as a way to join independent
clauses and colons as a means of introducing a quote or list through the Colon and Semicolon Handout.
Students continue the peer review process for grammar and spelling. The assessment in this lesson is
based on student revisions based on peer feedback. For homework, students continue to revise their
drafts in preparation for the End-of-Unit Assessment.
Standards
Assessed Standard(s)
W.9-10.5
Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or
trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific
purpose and audience. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of
Language standards 1–3 up to and including grades 9–10 on page 55.)
L.9-10.2. a,
b, c
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization,
punctuation, and spelling when writing.
a. Use a semicolon (and perhaps a conjunctive adverb) to link two or more closely
related independent clauses.
b. Use a colon to introduce a list or quotation.
c. Spell correctly.
Addressed Standard(s)
W.9-10.2.d
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts,
and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and
analysis of content.
d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of
the topic.
SL.9-10.1
Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in
groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9–10 topics, texts, and issues,
building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
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NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
L.9-10.6
DRAFT
Grade 9 • Module 3 • Unit 3 • Lesson 7
Acquire and use accurately general academic and domain-specific words and phrases,
sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness
level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering
a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.
Assessment
Assessment(s)
The learning in this lesson should be captured through students’ revision of their research paper based
on the instruction of L.9-10.2—writing conventions (capitalization, punctuation, and spelling).
 This assessment is evaluated with the L.9-10.2 portion of the Research Paper Writing Rubric:
Informative/Explanatory (located in the 9.3.3 Rubric and Checklist Packet).
High Performance Response(s)
A High Performance Response may include the following:
Pre-Revision:
Plenty of people say there pets are intelligent. Some people think that they’re dog is more smart than
their neighbor. But how smart are animals really? over the centuries, people offered many ways of
thinking about animal cognition. in the 17 century, rene descarte said animals don’t think at all, and
that is why they are not able to speak. Recently, many researchers began to observe extrordinairy signs
of intelligence in dolphins, chimps, dogs, and even parrots from following instructions and using tools,
to being able to speak and do math. But while some animals: may show signs of intelligence, a
remaining question is; How do animal intelligence compare to human intelligence? while we think that
humans are smarter, how, much smarter, are we, exactly? The question still has no clear answer… it
depends on how we measure intelligence, and weather or not it is fare (or even possible) to compare
us to them.
Post-Revision:
Plenty of people say their pets are intelligent, emotional creatures. Some people might even argue that
their dog is smarter than their neighbor. But how smart are animals really? Over the centuries, people
have offered many ways of thinking about animal cognition—that is, the mental capacities of animals.
In the 17th Century, René Descartes claimed that animals do not think at all, and that is why they are
not able to speak, (Castro and Wasserman). Recently, though, many researchers have begun to observe
extraordinary signs of intelligence in dolphins, chimps, dogs, and even parrots—from following
instructions and using tools, to being able to speak and do math. But while some animals may show
signs of intelligence, a remaining question is: How does animal intelligence compare to human
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NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
DRAFT
Grade 9 • Module 3 • Unit 3 • Lesson 7
intelligence? While we think that humans are smarter, how much smarter are we exactly? The question
still has no clear answer; it depends on how we measure intelligence, and whether or not it is fair (or
even possible) to compare us to them.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary to provide directly (will not include extended instruction)
 Independent clause (n.) – a clause that can stand alone as a sentence, containing a subject and a
predicate with a finite verb.
 Conventions (n.) – The way in which something is usually done, especially within a particular area
or activity (in this case, grammar).
Vocabulary to teach (may include direct word work and/or questions)
 None.*
 Students should be using their Vocabulary Journal to incorporate domain-specific vocabulary from
Unit 9.3.2 into their research paper, as well as to record process-oriented vocabulary defined in the
lesson.
Lesson Agenda/Overview
Student-Facing Agenda
% of Lesson
Standards & Text:
 Standards: W.9-10.5, L.9-10.2.a, b, c, W.9-10.2.d, SL.9-10.1, L.9-10.6
 Text: Sources from research
Learning Sequence:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Introduction of Lesson Agenda
Homework Accountability
Editing Instruction
Peer Review
Lesson Assessment
Closing
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
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NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
DRAFT
Grade 9 • Module 3 • Unit 3 • Lesson 7
Materials
 Student copies of the 9.3.3 Rubric and Checklist Packet for each student
 Copies of Colon and Semicolon Handout for each student
Learning Sequence
How to Use the Learning Sequence
Symbol Type of Text & Interpretation of the Symbol
10%
no
symbol



Percentage indicates the percentage of lesson time each activity should take.
Plain text indicates teacher action.
Bold text indicates questions for the teacher to ask students.
Italicized text indicates a vocabulary word.
Indicates student action(s).
Indicates possible student response(s) to teacher questions.
Indicates instructional notes for the teacher.
Activity 1: Introduction of Lesson Agenda
10%
Begin by reviewing the agenda and assessed standards of this lesson: W.9-10.5, L.9-10.2. Inform
students that they are focusing on grammar and spelling in this lesson and doing peer review in
preparation for the End-of-Unit Assessment. Inform students that they are working with a new
standard: L.9-10.2. Display the language of the standard: Demonstrate command of the conventions of
standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. a. Use a semicolon (and perhaps
a conjunctive adverb) to link two or more closely related independent clauses. b. Use a colon to introduce
a list or quotation. c. Spell correctly. Ask students to put this standard in their own words.
 Students follow along and read the agenda.
Explain that students are assessed on this new standard: L.9-10.2. Ask students to individually reread
standard L.9-10.2 and assess their familiarity with and mastery of the standard on the 9.3 Common Core
Learning Standards Tool. Ask students to write down what they think are the large ideas in the standard
and discuss with a classmate.
 The 9.3 Common Core Learning Standards Tool was distributed in Unit 1 Lesson 1.
Lead a share out of the standard’s large ideas.
 Student responses may include: This standard is about spelling words, using correct grammar,
and using semicolons and colons properly.
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NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
DRAFT
Grade 9 • Module 3 • Unit 3 • Lesson 7
Activity 2: Homework Accountability
10%
Instruct students to Turn-and-Talk with a classmate about the revisions they completed for homework
based on the feedback around cohesion, their introductions, and conclusions from the previous lesson.
 Student responses vary based on their individual revisions.
Activity 3: Editing Instruction
20%
Explain to students that editing for grammar is an important part of writing and should always be
completed prior to writing their final draft. Inform students that they should always incorporate proper
capitalization and punctuation into their writing, and remind them that these conventions have been
addressed in previous modules.
 If students require more direct instruction around conventions of standard English capitalization,
the aspects most pertinent to this unit are the capitalization of proper nouns and the first word in a
sentence.
Inform students that they are focusing on how to use semicolons and colons to strengthen their writing
and communicate complex ideas and that there are conventions for using these types of punctuation,
which you can review with them.
 Inform students that a convention is the way in which something is usually done. For punctuation, a
convention would be the way(s) a punctuation mark is most often used. Remind students to record
the definition of conventions in their Vocabulary Journals.
 Students follow along.
Distribute the Colon and Semicolon Handout to students and ask them to follow along while learning
about punctuation conventions.
 Students look over the Colon and Semicolon Handout.
Explain to students that semicolons are a type of punctuation that can be used to connect two
independent clauses. Offer students a definition of independent clause as a clause that can stand alone
as a sentence, containing a subject and a predicate with a finite verb. This means that an independent
clause communicates a complete thought and it is usually a simple sentence. Display the following
example for students: “The table was long.” This is an example of an independent clause.
 Remind students to record the definition of independent clause in their Vocabulary Journals.
 If needed, provide further instruction around independent clauses. For example, “I am,” is
technically an independent clause. “The red house in Florida,” is not an independent clause. If time
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NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
DRAFT
Grade 9 • Module 3 • Unit 3 • Lesson 7
allows, help students differentiate between independent and dependent clauses. (e.g., “I work at
the grocery store, which is red,” the former clause being independent, the latter being dependent.)
In order to join a related independent clause and show they are related, use a semicolon. Display the
following example for students: The table was long. It could seat 15 people. Now display the joined
clauses: The table was long; it could seat 15 people. Explain to students that it is not incorrect to use two
sentences instead of conjoining the clauses with a semicolon, but since the ideas are linked, it makes
sense to conjoin them. Display the following examples for students to explain situations where a
semicolon would not be appropriate: The table was long; very long. and The table was long; and
wooden.
 Students follow along.
Inform students that colons are a type of punctuation that are very important in a research paper
because a colon is used when introducing a quotation after an independent clause.
Display the following example for students: It has been documented that pigeons would be much better
at a game show than humans: “After training in the game, the pigeons switched 96 percent of the time”
(Horowitz and Shea). Display the following example to explain a situation where a colon would not be
appropriate: After training: “the pigeons switched 96 percent of the time” (Horowitz and Shea).
 Students follow along.
Another use of colons is to introduce a list. Display the following example for students: Monkeys have
plenty of skills, including: climbing trees, using tools to get food, communicating with hand gestures, and
even finger-painting.”
 Some students may have trouble immediately grasping the proper use of colons and semicolons. If
students are struggling, work with them individually to write out 5–10 examples of the proper use of
each type of punctuation.
Instruct students to keep the Colon and Semicolon Handout and use it as a reference as needed.
Remind students to be mindful of their spelling as well as their use of specific domain vocabulary they
have identified from the text and recorded in their Vocabulary Journals.
 Instruction around independently identifying and addressing vocabulary has been established in
Unit 2 of this module.
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NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
DRAFT
Grade 9 • Module 3 • Unit 3 • Lesson 7
Activity 4: Peer Review
30%
Inform students that they will work in pairs to continue to peer review their drafts for correct use of
grammar (capitalization, punctuation), spelling, and use of domain specific vocabulary. Instruct students
to look for instances in their partner’s paper where a semicolon or colon should be used. Ask students to
take out their 9.3.3 Rubric and Checklist Packet, and turn to the checklist for standard L.9-10.2. Ask
students to use this checklist as a guide during their peer review. Remind students they should be
finalizing their draft in the next lesson. Inform students that in this lesson, they will continue the work of
collaborative discussion outlined in SL.9-10.1, to which students were previously introduced. Remind
students these discussion strategies have been taught in previous modules.
 Consider reminding students of the skills inherent in the sub-standards of standard SL.9-10.1, to
which students were previously introduced.
 Consider completing any outstanding teacher conferences with students.
Activity 5: Lesson Assessment
25%
Inform students that they should independently review and revise their draft based on the peer review.
Remind students they are assessed using the checklist aligned to W.9-10.2.d and L.9-10.2 and to refer to
the 9.3 Unit 3 Rubric and Checklist Packet for further guidance.
Activity 6: Closing
5%
Display and distribute the homework assignment. For homework, ask students to make further
grammatical edits and spelling in preparation for the End-of-Unit Assessment and be prepared to discuss
one or two of their edits in the following lesson. Ask students to review their paper and make note of
any evidence or information that would be well suited to present in a visual format.
 Remind students that the performance assessment in this module should be a multimedia
presentation of their research paper.
Homework
Continue to edit your research papers for grammar and spelling. To guide your edits, use the checklists
aligned to W.9-10.2.d and L.9-10.2 and be prepared to discuss one or two edits in the following lesson.
Additionally, review your research paper and identify information that would benefit from being
presented in a visual or multimedia format. Capture this information in the form of a list to be reviewed
in the following lesson.
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7
DRAFT
NYS Common Core ELA & Literacy Curriculum
Grade 9 • Module 3 • Unit 3 • Lesson 7
Colon and Semicolon Handout
Name:
Class:
Date:
Common and Proper Uses of the Colon:
 Use a colon when introducing a quotation after an independent clause.
o
For example, it has been documented that pigeons would be much better at a game show than
humans: “After training in the game, the pigeons switched 96 percent of the time” (Horowitz
and Shea).
 Use a colon when introducing a list.
o
For example, monkeys have plenty of skills, including: climbing trees, using tools to get food,
communicating with hand gestures, and even finger-painting.
Common and Proper Uses of the Semicolon:
 Use a semicolon to connect two independent clauses that are related to one another.
o
For example, the monkey could read; he enjoyed short books.
Further reference: The Purdue OWL Family of Sites. The Writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and Purdue U,
2008. Web. 1 Dec. 2013. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/engagement/2/1/44/
 Remember: An independent clause contains both a subject and a verb, and can stand alone as a
complete sentence. (e.g., “The boy runs,” is an independent clause; “The boy down the street,” is
not independent.)
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